Robin Hanson turns all the dials to 11

Reasonable economic cases can be made for allowing people to sell their organs, and for allowing people to buy the ability to immigrate into our country.Â Cautious people avoid such proposals, because they push too many emotional buttons.Â Mischievous folks like myself, however, wonder what happens if we push all the buttons at once: what if people could enter the country if they give up a kidney, or similarly valuable organ?Â Would those who worry about the loyalty of immigrants who just pay cash to come here be reassured by the symbolic loyalty of giving up an organ?Â Would those who fear that organ sellers are exploited be reassured by the huge value immigrants gain from living here?Â Impish minds want to know.

Regardless of where you fall politically on these debates, I hope you appreciate the paradigm-shattering creativity of combining the two concepts together.Â Â The next time you have two different, difficult problems staring at you, perhaps you can consider interesting ways to play one off of the other.